Some aspects of religiosity in Science

Science and religion are the two grand visions of the world, so it is important to study their relationship. This relationship can be considered from the historical, philosophical and social point of view. The nature of science and technology on one side and of religion and religiosity on the other are briefly considered. After some preliminary considerations the difference between science and ideology is established. The relationship between science and religion is considered under five categories: conflict, independence, dialogue, complementariness and integration. Inevitable conflict is rejected on historical ground, although attitudes generating conflicts are present in the religious and scientific fundamentalisms. Independence assures the necessary autonomy of each one, but it is not sufficient. Dialogue is a good and desirable relationship that will enrich both of them. Complementariness adds to the dialogue that both visions of the world are not complete in themselves, so that they need to complement each other. Integration is a more problematic proposition and several approaches have been proposed. They can be grouped into those that go from the knowledge of nature to God and from a religious position to the knowledge of nature and science. As a conclusion a fruitful dialogue is proposed which recognizes the mutual autonomy between science and religion.

Chapter 9 of: "Is Religion Natural?" (edited by: Dirk Evers, Antje Jackelén, Michael Fuller, and Taede Smedes), 2012

Ever since the ascent of science and the parallel criticism of traditional religion there have been attempts to invent a new religion that would derive both its fundamental tenets and its legitimacy from science. I try to assess whether such a religion of science could at the same time fulfill the role of traditional religions and escape the latter’s problem of being open to abuses. No doubt individual practitioners in scientific fields can find spiritual fulfillment in their activities. It is hard to see, though, how a particular field of science could become the basis for a public religion. A general, unspecific science cult – as opposed to the pursuit of specific disciplines – could conceivably function in this way, but at the price of most of the drawbacks often ascribed to religion and few of its benefits. The first difficulty, creating a public religion on the basis of a scientific discipline, is exemplified by the attempt of Auguste Comte to create the Religion of Humanity. The second, abuses that can beset quasi-religious cults based on science, is illustrated by the tragic example of eugenics. Scientific investigation is by nature analytical, directing the exploring mind to detail and intentionally ignoring those aspects that are deemed irrelevant, in contrast to the holistic nature of traditional religions. It would seem that the richness of religious traditions is better able to fulfill the individual and social functions while also allowing for course corrections from within.

The Journal of Religion, 2006

The concepts “science” and “religion” are both products of modernity. “Religion” took on its present meaning in the seventeenth century, “science,” during the nineteenth. An understanding of the social and historical processes which have led to the formation of the dual categories “science” and “religion” is vital for any assessment of their current relationship. In each instance, the formation of the category came about through a process of reification which shifted the focus of attention away from the relevant human activities to abstract bodies of knowledge or sets of propositions. This has led to a distorted understanding of the phenomena which these terms purport to represent, a distortion which is magnified in discussions of their putative relationship. The constructed nature of the science-religion relation suggests the need for revision of standard approaches to the science and religion question.

Ereba Barida, 2019

‘Religion and Science’ are two important phenomena that require proper understanding. Prof. Wotogbe-Weneka, in his, “Themes in Comparative Religion” (2014, 1) opine that “The uniqueness of Religion as a phenomenon of human concern lies in the fact that unlike other spheres of human concern, everybody is interested in Religion, be he a believer to whom his faith is a matter of ultimate concern or a person who thinks he does not believe an cannot believe in the supernatural rulership of the universe”. Unfortunately, the reality of human homo religiosus in Wotogbe-Weneka’s verbiage, viz-a-viz the pluralistic nature of beliefs made it difficult for scholars to come up with a universally acceptable normative definition of religion. However, for the purpose of doing justice to this presentation, we shall consider religion as, “a unified system of beliefs and practices relative to sacred things…”

The relation of science and religion, the problem of their synthesis is revisited. Taking the way from the known distribution of believers and non-believers the rationale of each group is investigated. They are evaluated on base of evidences and a new picture is suggested. The suggested picture is further cross-checked and the result that we need further research on these grounds is deduced. It is reminded that this deduction is based on the possibility of encountering the matter of “to be and not to be” twice. That this reseach needs to be bounded to the Earth, since it needs to be feasible, is also emphasized.

2020

The present paper takes into consideration a few aspects related to the relation between the two disputed domains of knowledge: science and religion. After having pointed out the main eight warfare and nonwarfare models of interaction between science and religion, the study focuses on the motives of Eastern and Western Christianity breach, which resides on the very different attitude to Science and Nature. The main part of depicting the nexus between the two fields of research is focusing on the doctrine of creation, the one Christian theology truly revolutionized. The Christian Weltanschauung was so new in comparison with Greek cosmology that it had to raise new questions and make radical modifications, especially regarding the understanding of space and time. The Fathers of the Orthodox Church were happy to use the science and philosophy of their time in their theological thinking. However, they did not pursue a natural theology in the sense the term is often now understood based ...

Palgrave Communications

Traditionally, analytic philosophy of religion has focused almost solely on specifically philosophical questions about religion. These include the existence of God and divine attributes, religious language, and the justification of religious beliefs, just to mention a few. Recently, many scholars in the field have begun to engage more directly with scientific results. We suggest that this is a promising direction for philosophy of religion to take. Nevertheless, we want to warn philosophy of religion against the excessive focus on methodology that has preoccupied the "science and religion dialogue" in theology. Instead of attempting to formulate a general methodology for all possible engagements between philosophy of religion and the sciences, philosophers of religion would do well to focus on local and particular themes. Since there is no single method in philosophy and since scientific disciplines that have religious relevance vary in their methods as well, progress can be made only if philosophical tools are employed to analyse particular and clearly demarcated questions.

The relationships between ‗Science and Religion' has been a subject of continuous discussion among scholars in recent years. In the present article it has been endevoured to analyze and discussed this relationship. These two great cultural forces have multi-faceted relations which have been evolved as a historical phenomena since ages as philosophers, theologians, scientists, and others have studied them as a subject. Science and religion are complex subjects and it is very difficult to define them, however, we may define science is the observation, experimental investigation, theoretical explanation of phenomenon, activities based on the study of an object and mainly based on the facts as well as it can be proved by scientific analysis. i Science cannot be explained on the basis of supernatural phenomenon as it has no evidence. On the other hand, religion may be defined as it is a supernatural belief in which human being worships superhuman power i.e. God or goddess. Moreover, science and religion are complementary ii as science examines the natural worldscientifically, iii while religion involves to the spiritual as well as a supernatural phenomenon. Science and religion have their own individually and importance as they deal with several different aspects of human activities and experience. Science is rational as it deals with the facts, experiment, observation and proved to be true through experiments. iv Some scientists consider that things happen naturally, some do not consider the existence of Gods or Goddesses and others opine that one or more deities exist, but they do not interfere with nature. On the other hand, religion deals with faith and beliefs. There are approximately 270 large religious groups and thousands of smaller groups in existence in the world as well as there are more than one thousand Christian religious organizations only which are operative in the U. S. A. and Canada. All these religious groups have different conflicting beliefs pertaining Gods, deity, humanity and the rest of the universe. Some religious groups consider themselves completely true, others believe that their faith in humanity was revealed by God Himself in the form of holy books as well as some religious groups consider that all religions are man made other than their own religion. Each religion has some enthusiastic followers who claim that only their faith is correct and according to them it would explain vividly the ways of the world. Most religions consider that they have been taught the absolute truth by God through revelation. Religious faiths involve in myths, traditions and the existence of supernatural powers or entities, and in their beliefs, there is an absence of rationality and logic or scientific experimentalism. Science and religion are involved continuously for centuries in heated debates for domination about discerning the secret of life. Science accepts reasoning, phenomenalism and evidence, on the other hand, religions include faith, belief, holiness, revelation and philosophical as well as supernatural explanations regarding the study of the secrets of the universe. Science and religion are dynamic and timeless as they are complex cultural endeavors which have been transforming through the ages. v Traditional religious societies achieved maximum scientific and technical inventive conceptions anterior to the Renaissance. Islam, Christians, Hinduism, Jainism, Buddhism, and Confucian scholars were the pioneers to use innovative scientific methods. Hinduism has historically adopted reasoning as well as experimentation to make scientific

MCDSARE: 2020 International Multidisciplinary Scientific Conference on the Dialogue between Sciences & Arts, Religion & Education, 2020

For centuries, science was considered as something radically different from religion. Yet, the foundations of true science are deeply religious in nature. This paper seeks to show how religion is the only foundation needed for the formulation of scientific theories, since it provides the core principles on which the building of exact sciences is based upon. Our need to understand the cosmos and our faith in us being able to do so, are the main prerequisites for conducting science; prerequisites that are derived from our belief in us being the sons of God and, thus, being able to read His mind. From its birth on 7 March 1277 up to today, science seems to be the only logical attitude of religious people towards the unknown cosmos.

One of the factors that has contributed to the creation and progressive sharpening of the conflict between Science and Religion is the emergence of Mechanicism, a worldview based on Classical Mechanics, a theory believed to have a universal character in the explanation of all natural phenomena. Mechanicism’s basic elements are presented – a strict fragmentation between the observer and the observed, a rigorous determinism and reductionism, a non-anthropic character – and the claim is made that these elements are difficult to sustain in the light of theories such as Quantum Mechanics. The idea is then explored that in light of the decline of Mechanicism, a possibility then emerges for reconciliation between Science and Religion. Quantum phenomena are then analyzed, and Bohr’s Complementarity, that forms the basis of a coherent interpretation of Quantum Mechanics, is considered. This interpretation considers Quantum Mechanics as a complete theory. In order to study the relationship between Science and Religion, it is vital to explore the nature of each. Characteristics of both are thus examined. Starting with Science, the character of scientific observations, the process of induction, and other aspects are analyzed, as is the conclusion that Science is a holistic system of knowledge, some of whose elements are rationality, articles of faith, spiritual qualities, and faculties of the spirit. The use of language in Science is also considered. Religion is then examined, and the claim is advanced that if the object of scientific explanations has been the material universe, Religion has had as its object of explanation the spiritual dimension of the individual, of society, and, in general, of all creation. The relationship between Religion and spirituality is then analyzed, concluding that it is similar to the one that exists between Science and rationality, and maintaining that Religion is more than spirituality. The claim is made that every Religion is a structure, a complex system of knowledge about the world, and is also a system of laws, with the power to organize society. The relationship between revelation and scientific investigation is also discussed. If within Science the possibility for dialogue is opened, it is valid to ask what happens from within Religion. For a possible answer, a particular religious vision must be chosen, and this paper approaches these questions from within the vision of the Bahá’í Faith. Some principles of the Bahá’í Faith are then presented that help to find a harmonious relationship between Science and Religion and can guide exploration of this relationship, including the principle of the essential harmony between Science and Religion, the unity of creation and the character of God’s laws, and the concept of Progressive Revelation. Finally, the theme of the relationship between Science and Religion is examined on the basis of the general conception of Complementarity regarded by Bohr as an epistemological principle which has its clearest application in Quantum Mechanics, but could also be applied in other contexts with the same logical structure of quantum phenomena. It is concluded that a relationship of complementarity exists between Science and Religion.